Blue Ocean owners say they remain committed to Windsor Mill project

A specialized fire investigation team from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will conduct a press conference at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in a vacant lot across from the Windsor mill fire site at 301 Main St. Windsor Mayor Kristie Melendez, Windsor Severance Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Todd Vess, ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Terry Henderson, Windsor Town Manager Kelly Arnold and Windsor Chief of Police Richard Klimek, will be in attendance.

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Hearth Restaurant and Pub closed due to Windsor Mill fire

According to a sign on the steps of Hearth Restaurant and Pub, the business will be closed until further notice due to the Windsor Mill fire, less than a block away from the building. Windsor Severance Fire Chief Herb Brady said the building may have experienced heat damage. According to the restaurant’s Facebook page, Hearth will likely be reopened Tuesday, and was closed due to smoke coming from the still-smoldering mill.

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Tips

Windsor Severance Fire Rescue asks residents to call the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms with tips or information, at (800) 283-4867. Residents are asked not to call 911 or the dispatch center as it impacts the department’s services, according to the fire department.

After working for several months on the Windsor Mill, Noah Bancroft picked up burnt pieces of the building on Monday.

"It's really bizarre," he said.

He was part of the cleanup crew spent about three hours Sunday cleaning up the NAPA Auto Parts parking lot across from the Windsor Mill, at 301 Main St., which caught fire shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday morning.

Bancroft was on the Integrity Core Services demolition crew, one of the first crews hired to work on the mill by property owners Blue Ocean Inc. He worked on demolition inside the building for about five months, working on the renovations Blue Ocean planned for the mill.

Blue Ocean hired him and others to clean up the mess Sunday, work they continued Monday. Windsor-Severance Fire Rescue Chief Herb Brady said Blue Ocean has been helpful in the fire's aftermath.

For Bancroft, the cleanup was surreal after spending so much time working inside the mill. Bancroft said his mom called around 2 a.m. Sunday to tell him the mill was on fire, and he headed straight to the scene.

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"When we rolled up on it, it looked like a scene from 'Lord of the Rings,' like Mordor or something," he said.

The project was in the middle of a massive overhaul, planned by Blue Ocean Inc. owners Curt and Nancy Richardson — the name behind Otterbox in Fort Collins. They had big plans for the five-story building, including a brewery and community event space. The $9.2 million project was bolstered by a $3.7 million development incentive package from the town. According to a news release from the town of Windsor, no public dollars have been spent yet on the project.

The Richardsons said Monday in a news release that they remain committed to the project, though now a pile of charred debris.

"We will work closely with our design team and local officials to better understand the options and timeline for bringing this project online again," the Richardsons said in the release.

The Windsor Mill was built in 1899 and has served as a flour mill, livestock feed storage facility and retail space.

"Like so many of our fellow residents of northern Colorado, we were devastated to learn about the overnight fire that destroyed the historic Windsor Mill," they said in the release.

Witnesses said there was a storm in the area the night of the fire. According to the Colorado Lightning Mapping Array website, that storm resulted in lightning in Weld County. The map, however, does not show information specific to cities and towns.

The debris still smoldered Monday, while firefighters remained at the scene. A team of 20 from the federal Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms agency arrived to help. Over the next several days, certified fire investigators and other experts will work alongside local investigators to sift through debris, reconstruct the scene, collect evidence, conduct interviews and attempt to identify an origin and cause of the fire, according to a news release.

"Our goal is to find answers about this fire for the town of Windsor. Working side-by-side with Windsor-Severance Fire Rescue, we will leave no stone unturned," said ATF Special Agent in Charge Debora Livingston, in a release. "ATF's highly experienced investigators conduct thorough and methodical investigations based on the scientific method, approaching all scenes with an open mind and no preconceptions."

Fire crews, law enforcement and investigators likely will remain at the scene through the rest of the week, Brady said. During the investigation, Windsor Police will work to secure the site 24 hours per day, seven days per week, according to a town news release.

Due to the danger of the continued hot spots and parts of the building collapsing, Brady said, firefighters have had to be careful and have mostly used a ladder truck to put out hot spots from above.

The effects of the fire were not just contained to the mill, Brady said, as foam insulation was spread over several blocks near the building. Windsor-Severance Fire Rescue sent brush trucks out to check for small fires started by the debris, Brady said.

The heat also caused some damage to the homes across the alley from the mill, Brady said, such as siding, garage doors and fencing. The amount and extent of the damage still is unknown.

As smoke spread throughout downtown Windsor on Sunday, Brady said the fire department had monitored the air quality and found no sign of any dangerous chemicals in the smoke.

"We don't see any concerns as far as smoke," he said.

While he cleaned Monday afternoon, Bancroft reflected on the phone call from his mom alerting him to the fire. When she first called, Bancroft said he could hardly believe the news.

"It's like a dream, you know," he said. "I've spent every day of the past five months there."

ATF press conference

A specialized fire investigation team from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will conduct a press conference at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in a vacant lot across from the Windsor mill fire site at 301 Main St. Windsor Mayor Kristie Melendez, Windsor Severance Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Todd Vess, ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Terry Henderson, Windsor Town Manager Kelly Arnold and Windsor Chief of Police Richard Klimek, will be in attendance.

•••

Hearth Restaurant and Pub closed due to Windsor Mill fire

According to a sign on the steps of Hearth Restaurant and Pub, the business will be closed until further notice due to the Windsor Mill fire, less than a block away from the building. Windsor Severance Fire Chief Herb Brady said the building may have experienced heat damage. According to the restaurant’s Facebook page, Hearth will likely be reopened Tuesday, and was closed due to smoke coming from the still-smoldering mill.

•••

Tips

Windsor Severance Fire Rescue asks residents to call the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms with tips or information, at (800) 283-4867. Residents are asked not to call 911 or the dispatch center as it impacts the department’s services, according to the fire department.